


Whole

by OrionRedde, Shyrstyne



Series: Cometverse [81]
Category: Kingdom Hearts (Video Games)
Genre: Found Family, Multi, the usual pairings - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-27
Updated: 2020-11-27
Packaged: 2021-03-10 02:28:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,560
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27736867
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OrionRedde/pseuds/OrionRedde, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shyrstyne/pseuds/Shyrstyne
Summary: The curtain closes, and life goes on for you in Twilight Town.
Relationships: Isa/Lea (Kingdom Hearts)/Original Character(s)
Series: Cometverse [81]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1285373
Comments: 11
Kudos: 14





	Whole

**Author's Note:**

> welcome to the end of an era. what a ride it's been! we could not have possibly expected what started as a self indulgent oneshot would turn into an epic sprawling 80+ parts and well over 400k words. talk about go big or go home, eh?
> 
> this wasn't the original end of this series actually. the first one i wrote was actually a Distant Future type end, but as the series started to draw to a close.. i found i didn't like it much. there was too much finality and looking back and quite frankly it made me _sad._ that's not the tone i wanted to close this series on, so i wrote this one, and i'm much happier with it. this may be the end of this series, but not this universe. it continues on for as long as people want to enjoy it, and i think that's much more fitting.
> 
> there are a couple plot threads that we couldn't tie up as a result, but honestly it's fine. sometimes a mystery is just a mystery and that's okay.

Your name is Comet, you are 34 years old, and your world is a confusing, chaotic, _amazing_ place.

You have two wonderful datemates, a more than satisfying job running a bar in a sleepy mountain town, and more adopted kids than you care to count. You have friends in strange places, and even more family on a completely different world entirely. They call you all the time, because you never really got the hang of this phone thing and Yuffie is needy.

(or at least, that’s what you tell yourself. You both know it’s as much for you as it is for her.)

You jog through the streets of Twilight Town knowing exactly where you’re going, arms heavy with groceries, and wondering when your back started hurting so much. Thirty was too young for that, right? The weight is lifted from your arms unexpectedly as someone takes hold of the handles, and you blink in surprise as Sora grins at you.

“I had it handled.” You try not to pout, it pulls at the scars along your face funny, but it happens anyway. Sora just tsks, hefting the bags easily. He’s still on the shorter side, but he’s taller than you at least, and showing off what a decade of fighting will do to a physique. It feels strange sometimes, it feels like only days ago he was half your height and clinging to your waist sobbing over a lost home.

“Sure you did.” He replies easily- and with far too much smugness. You roll your eyes and let him have it, continuing the journey home.

“Where are your other halves?” You ask. You give a wave to Julie and Nora as you pass them by.

“Riku’s with Myde working on the Dream Eater thing. Kairi’s in Radiant Garden again.”

“She’s really set on fixing that house up, huh?” The house she had grown up in had been a work in progress for a few years now. Lea had been spending a lot of time there too, helping with the restoration and reminiscing in equal parts. Sora nods.

“It’s been helping, I think. Give her some closure.”

“Good.” You hope it does. She’d worked hard for it. The hum of a song and the familiar patter of feet has you pause, and a moment later Merlin totters up to you both.

“Dear me, dear me, hello young starlight.” He greets. “And you Master Naught. Erm- how are you this fine day?”

“Fine until this grocery snatcher came along.” You elbow Sora teasingly, and he pokes his tongue out childishly. He doesn’t release your bags though.

“Theif, eh?” Merlin tilts his glasses at Sora, mischief in his eyes. “Careful now whippersnapper, I imagine young starlight could put you through your paces yet.”

“No way.” Sora shakes his head, grinning widely. “Hello? Keyblade Master? Saved the universe like.. Five times?”

“It was _not_ five, you little troglodite.” You huff, but it’s all in good fun. “Three, tops.”

“Ehhh depends how we’re counting.” Sora makes a waffling gesture, but pointedly does not retract his statement. “Were you headed somewhere, Merlin?”

“Eh? Oh, yes. I was going to see your moon, starlight, but I seem to have ended up here instead. How curious.” He tugs at his beard in thought. You wonder how he doesn’t seem to have aged a day since you met him all those years ago in Traverse Town.

“If he’s not at the bar he’s probably at the library.” You offer. “Since I know he’s not with Nora and Julie. Would you like to come with us?”

“No, no, I’ll make my own way this time. Thank you though. Happy years remaining, sweet starlight. Make the most of them.” He turns to Sora. “And you! I’m very proud of you, my boy. You never will sit still, will you, Master Naught?”

He turns and walks away without waiting for an answer from either of you, a little skip in his step. You shake your head with a rueful smile and turn back towards the path home. Sora follows a moment later, confusion slipping back into the general smile of a peaceful walk.

“My mom’s doing a big dinner thing this weekend by the way.” Sora says cheerily. “She said to let you know.”

“Oh good!” You respond with delight. Kaze’s baking was unparalleled and you were already looking forward to it. “Everyone or just the family?”

Sora laughs.

“Aw you know my mom. Everyone _is_ family.”

You’re only a block or two away when there’s a familiar _vwop_ noise, and you let yourself giggle at how Sora’s whole expression lights up even before he turns to see the new arrivals. He shoves your groceries back at you and jumps into Riku’s arms before he’s even properly finished materializing.

“Oof-” Riku catches him though, barely even stumbling as Myde shakes his head at them. Sora just grins. “Yeah I missed you too.”

“You all done?” Sora asks brightly. His boyfriend nods.

“Yeah. Got something to show you later too. You think Kairi’s done for the day?”

“If not we’ll drag her out, she can work more tomorrow.” Sora shifts forms so he can rub his ears against Riku’s cheek affectionately, and Riku huffs a laugh.

“Or we could, y’know, _help_.” He says. “Am I carrying you there?”

“You are now.” Sora’s tail flicks with energy despite his words. It’s sickeningly cute. Riku tips his head at you and Myde, and then both are gone, headed to new destinations.

“Those kids, I swear..” You grumble good naturedly, readjusting your reacquired bags to carry more easily. Myde doesn’t offer to help, but then you didn’t really expect him to. One sour milk incident was enough.

It takes you a minute to realise he’s staring, and you blink at him, curious.

“What’s up?”

“Nothing.” He shrugs. “All stories come to an end. Are you happy?”

An end? You wonder what that means, but the question is easy enough.

“Yes.” You say, with confidence. “I wouldn’t trade any of this for anything.” Your home, your family… all hard won but precious beyond measure.

“Good.” He smiles then. “They want to say thank you.”

“Who’s they?” You ask, but Myde clearly isn’t all there right now, and just smiles.

“Oh, you know. You brought a lot of happiness without ever knowing it. Just thought you should know.” He stretches, sinking into signature black goop and scattered eyes. “I’m gonna go cuddle Ienzo now. I’ve got another six months before he brings up kids and I Panic about it.” And then he’s gone again.

Typical Myde ambiguity, you’re not surprised. You mentally make a little note of the date six months from now, figuring either Myde or Ienzo are probably going to need a pep talk.

You turn back to your path, and soon your destination comes into sight.

It’s a little hole in the wall, well worn and trafficked by regulars and family alike, where the sign is a little faded and the front step needs to be readjusted again. There are flowers in the windows and in the tiny plot outside, and if you look closely at the door frame you know you’ll find old wards intersecting with many familiar and beloved names.

It’s a little place called the Falling Star, and it’s home.

People come and go all the time here, but it’s always with the promise to return. There are three secondary rooms that you’re never sure are going to be full or not on any given day, and though it’s always a joy when they are, you never worry that they’ll sit barren and empty forever when they’re not.

Still, there’s one room that’s almost always full in this house at least. You step inside and are pulled into a full hug, two sets of arms wrapping securely around you. It’s warm and wonderful and… a bit uncomfortable as your bags squish against you.

“Guys give me like two seconds to put these away first, seriously.” You try to grouch but it comes out with a laugh instead. Lea and Isa pull back with appropriate contriteness, and they each grab a couple bags to help put away as they go.

It should be quick work between the three of you, but needy were’s are needy and keep pulling you in for affectionate grooming and generally being thoroughly distracting.

Your phone buzzes, and though you hate to pull away from a clingy pair of were’s, it _is_ Roxas’ ringtone, and he doesn’t tend to text you unless it’s important.

“ ‘Xion incoming?’ “ You wonder as you read the short message. “What does that me-”

“Axel!! Isa!! Comet!!” The door slams open, startling all three of you, and there’s Xion dragging Naminé and Haru behind them. They’ve all got grins so wide they must hurt, flushed and panting and holding hands. You blink, the gears in your head turning, though not fast enough as Xion releases Naminé and Haru to pull you in for a spine cracking hug.

“Woah there, Xion, where’s the fire?” Lea teases their enthusiasm, but it doesn’t damper it in the slightest. If anything their grip grows tighter as they lift you off the ground for a spin.

“We’re getting _married!”_

The gears in your brain come to a sudden, grinding halt. You’ll feel the overwhelming joy in a minute, but right now you’re still stuck on ‘Processing’.

“Congratulations.” Isa is by far the most collected about this, though his smile is wide and sincere. “I’m assuming this was decided just now?” Xion nods.

“You’re getting married?” Lea held the same stunned look you probably do right now, except he breaks out of it sooner as his lip wobbles and eyes well with tears. “You’re getting _married?”_

Xion nods again, finally setting you down so they can move towards Lea. They wrap him in a tight hug too, and then reach up to wipe away his tears.

(You remember once they said they liked being short, despite being a mild shapeshifter. It meant people underestimated them more. Personally you think they just like telling people to get things off the top shelf for them.)

Naminé stifles an indulgent giggle, turning towards Isa as he asks her something. You’re still not done Processing yet though, and are a bit startled when it feels like Haru appears out of nowhere to steady you as you list to one side.

“You okay?” He asks, and that catches Xion’s attention, her expression morphing instantly to worry.

“It _is_ okay, right?” They ask, and oh now you feel bad you’ve brought down the moment.

“It’s wonderful news.” You put yourself back together. Faint later, Comet! “It just caught me by surprise.”

They grin, worry allayed, and they hug you too, softer this time.

“We’re gonna go tell the others.” Xion says as they pull away. “I’m so excited!”

“You know we could just text them.” Haru points out, and Naminé takes his hand. Xion shakes their head.

“Now way! I wanna tell them all in person, don’t you?”

It’s clear he can’t really argue with that, and as quickly as they had arrived they’re gone again, door swinging in the frame behind them.

“No seriously, you need some water or something?” Lea peers into your face. “You look like you’re gonna faint.”

Isa pushes a cup into your hands. Boy he’s fast. Or maybe you zoned out for a bit.

“I’m surprised _you’re_ taking this so well.” Isa looks at Lea with a grin. “I would have expected more than just a few tears on your part.”

“Oh trust me, it has _not_ hit me yet.” Lea waves his hand. “Just wait till we try and crawl into bed tonight, I’m going to be a _wreck.”_

You let yourself laugh, and know that it’s true.

“Has anyone tried to get a hold of Vanitas?” You ask. He’s been running around keeping track of his now many Versed, on top of his responsibilities with Senna, and barely had time to check in lately. “He’ll be upset if no one tells him.”

“I bet you anything he’ll be rear guard for the ceremony.” Lea snorts. “For Naminé, anyway. We all know Roxas will be for Xion.” You wonder who Haru will pick. Sora perhaps?

“Without a doubt.” Isa agrees. “We’ll work on getting a hold of him. For now you have groceries to put away and a bar to open.”

Oh, right. It wouldn’t do to let the meat spoil, especially in this warm summer heat. You bustle about, letting the movement get your mind in gear, and your heart starts to gush as you finally process the news.

“When do you think Sora and his group will tie the knot?” Lea asks, leaning over the counter as he hands you the bags you’d left on the other side.

“Those three?” You snort. “I bet half of them have forgotten they haven’t already done it.”

Lea laughs outright, and Isa chuckles. It’s true and you all know it.

Eventually Isa heads upstairs, probably to water the garden on the roof, and Lea heads out to meet with Ven for a dinner thing they had planned. You’re quite sure they’re both going to spend the whole time gossiping about the newest development, but you can hardly blame them. Chances are you’ll be doing exactly that with Adira later, much to her probable dismay.

Still, you hope you get some kind of update from them later. Last you’d heard Ven had been running around Olympus Underworld and getting himself into trouble, and you wanted to know exactly what had happened there.

The door creaks open, and Roxas peeks his head in. On seeing only you present he enters the rest of the way, Hayner just behind him. It’s been a couple weeks since you’d seen the both of them, actually, and smile widely at the sight.

“Hey kiddo.” You greet, and he pouts at you.

“You know I’m like.. 24 right?” He says petulantly. You roll your eyes. It had long been agreed that Sora’s age at the time of the split was also Roxas (and by extension Xion’s) age, but it was still fun to poke at the weirdness of it all sometimes.

 _“Technically_ you’re not even a teen yet.” You retort. “Now quit your sass before I ground you.”

He demonstrates all his professed maturity by poking his tongue out at you, prompting Hayner into a belly laugh.

“I’m an adult.” He mutters. “Stop making things weird around my boyfriend.”

Honestly you’re really glad Hayner is the sort to just roll with things. The two were certainly a handful, but they were a good sort of handful, and you’re glad Roxas was able to find his own place in the world.

“Anyway.” Roxas brushes it off. “We’re headed upstairs.”

“Not enthused about all the wedding talk, huh?” You smirk at his sudden flush, having hit the nail on the head for his weirdness on entering, and are a bit delighted at how hard Hayner is trying to hold in his snickers.

“I am excited for them!” Roxas protests. “Really! We’re just! Letting them have their fun for a bit!”

Roxas tugs Hayner for the stairs and you watch them go. Just before they disappear into the stairwell Hayner waves his free hand at you cheerily, a wide, shit-eating grin on his face. The glint of a ring on his finger is as clear as day, and you nearly choke on the glass of water you’d started to sip.

Well. Roxas’ avoidance suddenly made sense at least. If anyone would ever go explicitly out of their way not to steal Xion’s thunder, it was going to be Roxas.

Boy does that boy _owe_ Hayner though, you figure.

“You hear the news?”

You startle with a jump, whirling to find Vanitas sitting on your counter, tail swishing lazily behind him. You frown, hands on your hips.

“Hey, dirty feet off my counter, I just cleaned that.” You snap a rag at him lightly, but you’re smiling. You’d been worried. “Yes I heard. How’ve you been?”

He hops off the counter, and then turns and lifts down Senna who’d been crouching behind him apparently. It’d be impressive how small that ten year old could make herself if it weren’t for the knowledge of how she’d learned to do so. She settles on the ground next to Vanitas, giving you a little wave in greeting, which you return.

“Good. Just got back from seeing Cinderella. Senna liked her dress.” He looks down at the girl, and she nods enthusiastically. She lifts her hands.

-Made friends with Tabir!-

“That’s wonderful! Gonna write to him?” You ask, and she nods. You turn your attention back to Vanitas. “Aren’t Terra and Aqua there right now too?” You ask, though you’re not totally sure. Your last update from them had been a couple days ago. Vanitas nods though.

“Yeah. They ended up helping take care of things for a bit when the heartless started crawling out of the woods.”

“Heartless?” They were still around of course, and always would be, but they didn’t tend to congregate like they used to. It’d been years since you’d seen more than a single one at a time. You know Aqua can take care of herself, but she was getting pretty far along now and she’d admitted that it was getting harder to fight now that the baby was big enough to show.

“They’re worried something might be attracting them, so they’re gonna stick around there for a bit, though I think Cinderella just wanted the excuse to fawn over Aqua’s bump.” Vanitas continues. He fishes out a chili pepper from your mini fridge and eats it raw. He offers a tiny piece to Senna who eats it with no problem. “I showed Senna a couple of heartless and then decided we’d come home for a bit.”

You raise your eyebrows, surprised he’d let her so close to them given his protective (and slightly possessive) streak. He shrugs.

“She’s not afraid of the dark, and that’s good, but it needs to be treated with respect too.”

Ah. That makes sense. A child's mind could easily make the assumption that all dark was like Vanitas’, when that wasn’t necessarily the case.

“Gonna stay for a bit then?” You ask, and he shrugs.

“Maybe a couple days. Ephemera around?” He asks, and your expression falls.

“No. He rushed through a week back or so, but I didn’t get the chance to talk to him. I’d hoped maybe he’d found something, or one of the others had, but I haven’t heard from him since.”

Vanitas frowns at that. The former darklings were always a complicated subject, especially for Vanitas and Ven, and you hope things aren’t as bad as they seem. Still, he doesn’t react much beyond that, so hopefully you’re just overreacting.

“We’ll head up then. Probably make dinner. Any preferences?” He looks down at Senna, who lights up and makes the sign for pasta. He nods, and like always it warms your heart to see how much he’s mellowed out, especially around her. After his… troubled beginnings, he deserved whatever happiness and family he could find.

And he’d found it, with you, with his siblings, with Senna… You’re glad. You’re so glad.

He and Senna head upstairs, and you return to prepping the bar, joy bubbling in your chest. You take a duster across the bottles scattered across the shelves, pausing as you go over the glass case holding your book.

You look down at it, heart and mind so full of happiness and memories, and remember where you started, so long ago. Lifting the cover open you reach in to pull the book out, tracing scarred fingertips down the embossed letters on it’s cover.

Squall had given you this book, a simple gift that had kept you going in the darkest places in your life. Isa had recreated it in painstaking detail when the original had fallen apart, a declaration of love you hold close even now. It was a little funny, how such a simple thing represented such highs and lows in your life.

You caress it once more, and then set it back in its place, safe behind the counter. Maybe you’ll give Squall and the others a call later, see if they have time for a visit sometime soon. It’s been too long since you’ve seen them. You miss Aerith’s quiet strength, Squall’s taciturn affection, Yuffie’s loud excitement.. Even Cid’s gruff demeanor. Yes, a visit soon sounds like just the thing. 

The bar is quiet, not yet open, and it feels like home. Struck with nostalgia you take out a pair of tiny shot glasses and pour a small drink in each. You take one and tap it to the second with a smile before shooting it back. 

“Thanks, Auntie.” So many things had happened to bring you here.. but none of it would have been possible without the singular strength of Bruna and her throwing arm. It was thanks to her you have this place now.

You have a home, a family, all over the worlds, and right here you’ll stay, always ready to welcome them back.

You have a _home._

It’s full of love.

Safety.

And really… 

What more could a person want than that?

**Author's Note:**

> yes the inverse parallel to the first fic of the series was very much intentional.
> 
> thank you all _so_ much for being with us through this series, we honestly never expected much attention for it- the whole premise is peak self indulgence- but to our surprise not only did you guys enjoy it but you really seem to enjoy it a lot! i can't even count the amount of times me and orion have yelled delightedly at each other over discord over the reviews we've gotten, and occasionally straight up been brough to tears by how sweet you guys have been. you guys are the best, and shout out to you for bringing this series to life in your own ways.
> 
> and i won't say we'll never write for this series again; we've got like three pages of word doc just full of various prompts just in this au, but for now this chapter is closed. thank you for reading it, and thank you even more if you enjoyed it!
> 
> hopefully we'll see you in the next project, whatever it may be :)


End file.
